Whose Past? An Interdisciplinary debate on the repatriation of artefacts and reburial of human remains .

Durham University Archaeology Society presents its first one day interdisciplinary conference to be held at Durham University involving the Archaeology, Anthropology, Philosophy and Law departments from Durham and Newcastle University and selected guest speakers. This year?s theme ?Whose Past? An Interdisciplinary debate on the repatriation of artefacts and reburial of human remains? aims to generate a stimulating debate about the ownership and ethical principles associated with two types of archaeological material; artefacts and human remains, with the focus on the repatriation of artefacts and reburial of human remains.

The Conference will take place on Saturday April 28th 2012, in Lecture room D110, at the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Dawson Building, Durham University Science Site.

The day will be divided into two sessions themed Artefacts then Human Remains. Each session will follow the same format- where a debate question is set and the two guest speakers argue one in proposition and the other in opposition. Each session will contain a mixture of archaeologists, anthropologists, philosophers and lawyers, who will provide their viewpoint, and then finally there is an open discussion for attendees to debate the theme and issues raised within the session. At the end of the day, a conference conclusion debate will be held where conclusions will be drawn relating to the key themes and questions.

The debate question for the Artefacts session is ?Western museums should take a sympathetic view to requests for the repatriation of cultural artefacts?. Speakers for this session which will be chaired by Professor Robin Coningham; include Professor Piotr Bienkowski, Dr Tiffany Jenkins, Dr Robin Skeates, Professor Robert Layton, Dr Andreas Pantazatos and Professor Tom Allen.

Please register before the deadline of 1st March 2012, as spaces are limited!

To book, please send a cheque to be made payable to DSU Societies Account (With Durham University Archaeology Society, written on the reverse) with the completed registration form (downloadable from the conference website) to:
Durham University Archaeology Society Conference 2012
Durham University
Dept of Archaeology
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE